207: What Apple MUST Get Right With Its Foldable iPhone Ultra ft. Michael Fisher [MrMobile]

Welcome back to The MacRumors Show. We finally have a guest again—Michael Fisher, MrMobile, Captain Two Phones—and naturally, a weather report. We’re talking Apple’s rumored foldable, so please don’t bail when Android enters the chat; it all comes back around.

England has cooled a bit, but I’ve been in Greece around wildfires this past week, so that was decidedly not ideal weather.

The morning was gorgeous, though it’s clouding over now, so perhaps the weather will deteriorate right along with us as we descend into madness. MrMobile is about a decade old, but I wasn’t independent until last year. I’ve covered foldables since 2019, and tech can still get me unhinged.

Samsung’s short, chunky Fold 8 and Google’s earlier wide approach feel close to what Apple may do. Is this better than the tall, skinny remote-control style?

The foldable world is bizarre: flips, tall book folds, OPPO’s squat Find N, Surface Duo, original Pixel Fold. Most companies moved away from wide designs, so Samsung returning surprised me. But people are really into the Fold 8, and that feels promising for Apple.

Apple choosing one form factor after waiting this long is a substantial endorsement. Google may have had the right basic idea before anyone else.

You need to hold these things. I arrived at Samsung skeptical, picked up the Fold 8, and thought, oh—this is the version the category wanted. It sits better in a pocket, works across daily use, and its outer screen can become two matching app spaces inside, reducing weird resizing.

For someone interested in foldables but not leaving an iPhone, software is the pitch. Hardware has improved enormously; the question is whether apps and multitasking truly use these shapes well.

People stop me in Brooklyn and say, “I’d love that, but I’m not abandoning my iPhone.” Foldables now have decent resistance, repairs, scaling, and multitasking. Apple has not made one. Once it does, it could vacuum up pent-up interest and force Android makers to innovate.

Apple taking so long raised expectations for an almost invisible crease. If it’s comparable to Samsung’s, why not launch earlier?

A Samsung-made panel is only part of the assembly; hinge, support structure, and upper layers change everything. And the crease mostly matters to somebody beside you catching the light. Head-on, you quit noticing it, like the notch.

Apple may stand out through service, repair access, and video. Cameras worry me: costly foldables often sacrifice telephoto reach or sensors, while iPhone Pro buyers expect the best.

You pay a comma-in-the-price amount and accept less camera hardware because the hinge, split battery, thermals, extra screen, and selfie module consume space. I expect Apple video to lead foldables and decent iPhone stills to soften it, but it’s the category’s uncomfortable trade-off.

An Ultra that costs more while losing cameras or Face ID is difficult to explain. Side-mounted Touch ID feels like reviving a supposedly inferior solution.

I’m a fingerprint-sensor person. Under-display is best; side placement is awkward, but not fatal—exactly the first-model friction that could vanish in an Ultra 2.

I bought the first Galaxy Fold for an extremely stupid New Year’s Eve reason: I refused to be upstaged. Then I spent a week in hospital in early 2020 with it as my one device. I didn’t miss a Kindle or iPad. Everything-in-your-pocket made the price make sense.

Apple’s software advantage is developer economics. Developers may invest in an iOS foldable because the App Store justifies the work. Apple may not need five flashy advantages if apps feel polished from day one.

Samsung may have made this Apple-like shape familiar. Strong preorders and casual questions about Apple’s version have changed my mind; I used to think price and compromises would sink it.

Apple cannot have an early Galaxy Fold-style reliability disaster. Dust remains a weakness; sand once left a little hinge bump in mine. If Apple delivers durability people can trust, it gives permission to trust the category.

The first model could look hugely successful while supply is tight. Generation two is the revealing test, once availability normalizes and Apple must address compromises.

I want a hinge that holds half-open: video above, controls below, and the phone becomes its own stand. Keep the internal camera out of content’s way, preferably in a corner. I expect Apple’s foldable to be an unqualified success, though Android is what I know. Second-generation folds can feel dramatically more mature.

I’m a macOS person, I respect Apple, and I expect excellent foldable video. Find me as MrMobile on YouTube, covering mobile tech—especially foldables—and occasionally indulging my physical-keyboard nostalgia.

Michael, thank you for coming on. We’ll catch everybody next week.